1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suspension system for a front road wheel of a motorcycle, and more particularly to a suspension system for a front road wheel of a motorcycle of the type which employs a link motion therein.
2. Related Art
In a suspension system for a front road wheel of a motorcycle, it is known to employ a telescopic type front fork for suspending the front wheel including fork pipes and slidable bottom cases which constitute hydraulic shock absorbers. Another type of suspension system which employs a link motion therein is also known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,481, granted to Valentino Ribi on July 15, 1980.
This link motion type suspension system includes an upper fork supported on a body frame, a lower fork supporting a front road wheel thereon, and a shock absorber having one end thereof joined to either one of the two forks and the other end thereof operatively connected to the other one of the two forks through links. The suspension system of this type is advantageous in that the performance of the front road wheel in following irregularities on a road can be improved because a greater stroke of movement can be attained with the front road wheel than with that in the telescopic type suspension system, and because the size and weight of the shock absorber can be reduced since the amount of expansion of the shock absorber can be made smaller in contrast to such a greater stroke. The link motion type suspension system, however, requires a relatively large number of paired links in addition to the upper fork and the lower fork. Further, because the shock absorber is not housed or built in the suspension system, the shock absorber is required to have mounting means provided at opposite ends thereof. Accordingly, the link motion type suspension system is disadvantageous in that it is likely to have a greater total weight when compared with conventional suspension systems of the telescopic type.